


Ten Of Swords

by Jungle321jungle



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Crossdressing, I add tags as i go, M/M, Swords, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:41:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25222561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jungle321jungle/pseuds/Jungle321jungle
Summary: The world of Swords of Power and Conquest was one Virgil dove head first into, giving his soul and life to the game. He would play whenever he could, and had even decided he wanted to go into game design. At times he had even dreamt of how wonderful it would be to be inside that world for even a moment- until that world became his reality.The familiar world he had come to love was now a foreign prison, one with no way out.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	1. Level One: A Place That Doesn’t Really Exist

**Author's Note:**

> A Log Horizon AU. If you don’t know what that is, this is a Show Better Than SAO AU. If you still don’t know, the sides get trapped in a video game.

**Level One: A Place That Doesn’t Really Exist**

He had gotten the game on a whim out of boredom. It was something he heard of a lot from kids at school, but with a laptop as old as his he had never considered getting it himself. And then he got a new laptop for his birthday. And a few days later, knowing he’d be bored during his family’s Christmas party, he downloaded it. It had taken forever honestly, and he kept going back and forth to his room to see when it would finally be ready for him to play. When it finally was prepared he had sat on his bed surrounded by younger cousins who had made their way into his room (past the door he had been 80% sure he had locked) and made his character. They had opinions on his character’s look, and even the name. But finally he thought he had found a way to both trick and satisfy the kids, and typed the name of the toddler in. He had fully expected the system to reject the name and then the kids couldn’t complain when he changed it to something he actually wanted. He hadn’t expected the game however to fucking accept “Anthony” as his screen name. 

It had been a stupid introduction gaming, but back then Virgil didn’t realize how much of an impact _Swords of Power and Conquest_ would have on his life. At one point he had thought the name was cheesy, but soon enough just like the rest of the world of Lirya, Virgil fell in love with it. 

The intricacies of the many skills available, the complex fighting system which interpreted those skills, and the way it seemed to thrive without any form of class systems, were all mesmerizing to Virgil in ways he couldn’t describe. He had thrown himself into the game playing day and night (much to his parents’ dismay), and fell more in love with it each moment. 

He had tried other games, at the urging of friends who claimed _Swords_ was too pointless with all the holes in its main quest. Those games had been fun, and Virgil had even tried a bunch of different genres. But there was something about _Swords_ which always pulled him back. Maybe because it was his introduction, or perhaps because the constantly updating side quests and his in game friends were too great to give up. So much so that years later Virgil found himself not only playing, but wanting to go into game design. He wanted to create- to work on something just as good, if not better than _Swords_. To give someone else the feeling he had when he first started the game. 

He was a true geek wasn’t he?

“I could’ve told you that,” Simon commented. 

Virgil rolled his eyes as he typed out his reply, _you can’t tell but I’m rolling my eyes_

He heard as the guy gave a slight laugh, “You know the point of this feature is to talk right?”

_My roommate’s napping, he was feeling sick_

“Rude of him... I just got a message from Tact. Apparently he wants to meet and talk.”

_What about?_

“Doesn’t say. Just says he has some info worth paying for.”

_Go handle it. I’ll watch things here_

“Sounds good, don't get more handsome while I’m away.”

Virgil rolled his eyes but didn’t bother to reply as Sam teleported out. He gave a stretch as he looked about his screen and the empty shop. On the other side of that virtual wall would be customers hanging out and lounging around, he supposed he could switch outfits and join those working, but he wouldn’t gain much from that. Maybe it was time to sign off for the night, he could watch some of the Twins’ videos. The latest guild had apparently done a large raid against one of the sphinxes of legend, that would be a cool video to watch. With that thought in mind he logged off and when the window was closed he noticed his calendar open.

His calendar with words written in red for the following day. 

_CALC TEST_

A curse slipped from Virgil’s mouth as he glanced at his clock. 5:34. If he skipped dinner and studied straight until midnight maybe- just maybe something would stick. Hopefully. 

~~~~

Virgil was on the brink of committing murder.

Not only was he stressed about his exam in the morning, but his roommate’s, Jonas’, NyQuil fueled snoring had been loud enough on its own. But on top of that there was the sound of their neighbors. Virgil had never been a fan of those living in the room to his left. This was usually on account of one them seeming to have an “overnight guest” over too often subjecting Virgil to sounds he wished to erase from memory. But tonight that wasn’t the case (at least not yet), tonight was a party.

A loud party which had gone on _far_ too long. 

The party had begun probably around nine or ten. And since it had only persisted and grew in volume. At first Virgil had knocked on his wall annoyed, but when that had yielded nothing he had gone over right before midnight to complain about the noise. The one who had opened the door had been taller than him, and if Virgil wasn’t so annoyed and tired he probably would’ve found himself spending more time staring at that gorgeous face as opposed to bitching about the noise. The guy had nodded once and had promised to quiet down. 

But that had been two hours ago. 

And it seemed Virgil’s second trip to yell at his neighbors to shut the fuck up a few minutes prior had done just as much good. So there was only one course of action left. 

  
  


_“You told the fucking RA?”_

Virgil looked up from where he had been staring at his Calc notes in preparation for the test about to begin to the face (of who else but) his neighbor. “I asked you to quiet down twice,” Virgil replied looking back down to the equations in front of him. 

“But _tattling?_ What are you? Five?”

Virgil took a deep breath as he looked back up to that face. “It was two am.”

“I don’t care. No one _else_ on the floor seemed to care.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“Alright everyone!” The professor cut in. “It's that time!”

As if calculus exam’s weren’t bad enough on their own, his neighbor’s eyes were glaring holes into the back of his head the entire time. He definitely failed that test. And the pop quiz in CS. And then he had left his Spanish homework in his room (and turns out the asshole neighbor is in that class too). Oh and of course he couldn’t forget he still had an essay due. 

Today was just shit in its purest form. 

And there was only one shovel Virgil knew how to use. 

He couldn’t stop the sigh of relief which escaped his lips as he sunk into his desk chair. 

“I take it you had an _amazing_ day?”

Virgil just gave his roommate the finger as he pulled his laptop from his backpack. After glancing at the clock he could play for about an hour before needing to switch to writing his essay in order to be done before it’s due at 11:59. “Hey will you yell at me to stop in an hour?” 

“Set a timer,” Jonas advised. “I’m not being yelled at again for forgetting.”

Virgil rolled his eyes before doing as he was told. With his timer set he pulled his headphones on and logged in. Logging in was accompanied by a message from Ralph. 

_The Silver Green Sharks and the Zora Regime are warring today on the Sheriyan Ruins in two hours. I’ll send a follow up with the exact coordinates soon as I know._

Virgil glanced at the time the message was sent with a smile as his inbox refreshed with a new message. Ralph seemed to have perfect timing as always. 

  
  


He found a spot toward the outer ring of the ruins where he’d been hidden in the shadows of the collapsed building. And not a moment too soon, because it was then others began to arrive at site. But after nearly forty minutes, Virgil was finding neither guild seemed to be timely. They just seemed to have taken sides, but neither had bothered to attack. Virgil’s fingers were itching for something- _anything_ to do. They needed to start fighting soon, before Virgil spent too long playing and his essay (and grade) suffered as a consequence. He sat there, spinning his phone’s ring stand in his hands and biting his tongue, and then a shout sounded over his headphones. He hadn’t been paying attention enough to know what it said, but the moment the voice ceased the two armies charged.

The chaos was instant, and Virgil had to stop himself from smiling at the sight- he had nothing to smile about just yet. His eyes scanned the details of everything in his character’s field of view- which wasn't much in this spot. But even if he moved further out he wouldn’t have enough information... He’d need to get to higher ground to see anything, but he’d need to risk being seen. But then again the risk was a portion of the fun. Virgil’s eyes flickered to his skills list, his mind already running through the combinations he knew. This was the true fun of _Swords_ . To a new player a single skill was simply that. To a veteran its a building block, a string meant to be interwoven in an unseen pattern with others to create even better ones. The combinations were near limitless overall, and every pattern held potential. But even with so many patterns only five patterns could be saved to be used a single click before the level cap. Others would take long casting time purely based on the abilities of the player.  
  


The skills, the skills, the _skills._

Virgil could and had gone on and on explaining to friends the combinations he had found and written down, and he could go on about theories he had for new ones. But this mission wasn’t the time. It wasn’t the time to think about improving his skills to get what he needed, right now he had a single saved skill, which would be useful in this situation, Silent Presence. A sneaking and cloaking skill which would keep him hidden for five seconds before a cool down too long to let him use it again if needed. Virgil took a deep breath and poised his fingers on his mouse and keyboard. He’d run, look for higher ground while looking out for any possible grabs, use his skill and then steal the best thing he could. 

He took a deep breath and then he was going. He ran out amongst the masses fighting, dodging them as he went. If anyone noticed him, they didn't say anything or try to fight him, most likely assuming he was a mercenary. He moved quickly spotting a higher bit of a crumbling wall, a few feet higher than the rest and everyone’s heads- perfect. He gave another deep breath, and then charged the wall. He jumped up to another crumbling piece and then double jumped up to the top ensuring he used Silent Presence as he did. 

Virgil bit his tongue as his eyes scanned the screen and zeroed in on where a few of the The Silver Green Sharks and a Zora regime commander surrounded, and she was failing to fight back. But regardless of who would win, there would be some nice drops. The only problem was that he wasn’t sure how much longer that fight would last, but with Silent Presence ending he had no choice but to move and hope for the best. He hopped down and started running going wide to see the fight going on his left. But as he went Virgil’s gaze couldn't help but slip to his timer and he bit his tongue noticing how much was left, three minutes. Maybe he’d go a few minutes past, he’d just need to get a good drop to make it worth it.

The Silver Green Sharks had forced the Zora Regime’s commander back away from her troops. There were three of them, surrounding her, forcing her to back up as they attacked him from long and short range with all the skills in their arsenal. From his angle none of them looked particularly impressive by Virgil’s standards, but it didn't matter. She was failing to fight back despite the impressive looking sword in her hand (a high level one no doubt given the Zora Regime’s status), so her HP wouldn’t last much longer. And that meant Virgil needed to move faster. He glanced at his remaining skills debating if he should save his Speed Sprint for before or after this grab. But looking at how badly this commander was doing he didn’t have much of a choice. He charged forward watching as the commander fell and the Silver Green Sharks began to jump for joy. Virgil didn't waste time jumping with them. He used the last of his speed burst to run up to the dead character.

The sound of his timer pierced his psyche and Virgil’s fingers slipped causing his character to stumble, but he tried to regain his momentum as he reached the fallen commander. The moment his hand was on the sword he wasn’t even sure if anyone was following him but he didn’t bother to check as he continued to run as fast as he could. He gritted his teeth as he ignored the sound of the timer ringing loudly in his ears, he couldn't think about that right now. Right now he needed to focus on the game. So in case of pursuers, he switched the sword strapped to his back, for the higher level one he had stolen. He had never been good enough with long distance weapons to rely on them. He could only rely on how fast he could run. He ran for the outer edge of the Ruins where he could dive into the forest. His fingers were flying across the keyboard queuing up a teleport crystal. For a moment he thought he was free-

“Turn the thing off!” Jonas shouted at him.

Virgil grimaced but didn’t bother responding as enemies began to come his way. He gave a swallow, eyes scanning the map for an escape as he tried to ignore Jonas’ bitching in the background. Damn he should’ve saved the fucking sprint. 

The cliff. It was a gamble but if he managed to get the edge, maybe they would slow down enough rather than push him off the edge. He just needed enough time to plug in the coordinates to the crystal. That would only take what? Four seconds? Could he buy himself that much-

“Virgil!”

“Shut up.” He returned, or was he directing it at the shouting voices in his headphones. Quite frankly he didn’t care. They were gaining on him, but as he reached the edge his character skidded to a stop. The enemies behind him didn't close in but they were too close for comfort. If they shot an arrow he was dead. Virgil gave a swallow as he finished typing in the last of the coordinates a risky plan before him. 

_“Virgil!”_

He jumped from the cliff and hit teleport at once, and as he began to teleport he felt an overwhelming amount of relief. He couldn't help but smile as Jonas snatched his phone away, nor did he care about the angered shouts in his headphones. 

And then came the deafening static. 

It was sudden- it was loud- it was piercing and Virgil let out an involuntary scream of pain. He reached to rip off his headphones only to feel his body crash to the ground as his vision flickered. Until he was left completely alone in the darkness. 

  
  


A groan escaped Virgil’s lips as he pushed himself to his knees. He rubbed at his closed eyes wondering how the hell he had managed to take such a hard fall from his chair before he opened them. 

He was greeted with the sight of grass. Grass and trees.

Virgil gave a swallow as he pulled himself to his feet trying to annoy the way his heart had leaped into his throat which was already constricting itself. He tried to force down his panic and the rising bile- he tried to _breathe_ \- but his gaze was focused on the sign. 

On the sign he had once helped put in this exact spot. But that didn’t make sense, that spot- this spot- that sign- was at the fork leading to the tavern- to a place that doesn’t really exist...

At least, not outside of the game.


	2. Level Two: Wait, You’re Not An NPC?

**Level Two: Wait, You’re Not An NPC?**

Virgil wasn’t sure how long he had stood there. Stood there staring at his surroundings in shock and disbelief. But it was the familiar sound of a message which shocked him out of his stupor. Virgil’s eyes darted around him wondering how to open and answer- or if he was truly insane- when a voice sounded in his mind. 

“Tony?”

The voice was one which filled Virgil with relief to the point of tears welling in his eyes, but none of this could be real, right? _ Right?  _

“Tony?” It asked again.

Virgil chose to indulge his own delusions as he wiped at his eyes. “Jack?”

“Oh thank God that worked!” The voice came from the other side of- of Virgil’s mind? “What the fuck is going on?”

“You’re asking me? This-” He stopped looking around at the forest and taking in the feeling of the sun streaming through the trees to let its warmth land on his skin, and the sound of animals running round. The sounds which were both so familiar and yet so foriegn. “This is all...” 

“I know. One moment I was sitting in my room, the next I’m standing in the Tavern. And I mean, not my character but- but  _ me _ .”

The unsteadiness in that voice was something Virgil wasn’t sure he had ever heard before. But then again, neither was this situation. “I’m at the fork,” was all he said. 

“Then get your ass over here.”

With that the “call” ended and Virgil found himself moving. Leave it to Piggy to calm him down to a state of action with so few words. He wasn’t sure anyone else he had ever known was capable of such a thing. 

Virgil moved quickly. He ran down the path following the way he knew but keeping his eyes peeled. Monsters had always been in this area, but when the Tavern had been opened the monsters had become some sort of a rite of passage. If someone couldn’t get past them, then they didn’t deserve to be in the Tavern in the first place. That’s why he and Piggy together had placed the sign post and the teleport spot at the fork. It was a test. One Virgil hoped he could pass. 

He gave a hard swallow as he continued on listening carefully to the sounds in the trees, bushes and forest floor. But not daring to stop long enough to wait for something to find him. He was close. The Tavern would be in the coming clearing. 

Ralph was waiting for him in the coming clearing. 

It was when the breeze ceased that rustling became clear. Virgil’s breath shuddered but he didn’t stop and draw the sword he could feel strapped to his back. Not yet. As it grew closer and it’s footsteps sounded heavy Virgil reached back his fingers closing on his sword hilt- ready. He would wait as long as he could- because he couldn’t afford a fight. He couldn't afford the risks he had thought he had enjoyed. 

Virgil could feel the roar of the monster in his bones- in his core. Tyren. A level 28 monster resembling a mix of wolf and cat with claws which hold poison. They were generally weak on their own. But they had a habit of traveling in packs. This wasn’t a fight he could win- not anymore. All he could do was run. 

His heart drummed faster in his chest with every step he took. His eyes were burning with unshed tears but he couldn’t let them fall and obscure his view. Not when he could see the Tavern. Not when in a few moments he knew he’d be able to see the sign for the Serpent’s Den. Another roar sounded to his right. Followed by one to his left. And the growling from nearly all sides. 

They were going to trap him. To get in front of him and surround him and then take their time ripping him apart. He wanted to puke. He wanted to feel like the walls weren’t closing in. He wanted to be back in his room- hell he’d go back to taking that fucking exam. He’d go back to anything. Anything but  _ this _ . 

He launched himself into the clearing not daring to look back as the roars continued. He sprinted for the back door praying to anyone who would listen that the door would be open. Thankfully his prayers were swiftly answered as the door burst open and Ralph was standing there crossbow in hand. Despite himself Virgil felt his lips curl into a smile as he watched his friend take aim. He ran toward him not bothered with where Ralph was aiming. It could be to his heart for all Virgil cared, it would be better than being torn apart. But he heard the whistle of an arrow flying past his head and the screech of a pierced tyren. He didn’t dare look back. 

It was close. Ten steps. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. 

Virgil threw himself onto Ralph sending them both flying to the ground and he could only laugh in relief as they both hit the ground, and the door slammed shut behind him. 

Virgil closed his eyes letting his tears fall as he listened to the sound of Ralph’s heartbeat. Ralph himself did nothing simply laying there, not saying a word nor pushing Virgil away. But after a moment Virgil pulled himself off and Ralph moved himself into a sitting position. Today’s face scanning Virgil with eyes that screamed worry. 

“I’m okay,” Virgil said finally. 

“No you’re not,” he disagreed. “No one’s okay right now.”

Virgil only gave a nod as he wiped at his face. When he had he looked back to Simon’s face unsure of what to say or do- but he found his gaze drifting above his head to the screen name which still managed to float about his head, lordofthelies.

“This is too real,” he said finally. 

Simon gave a chuckle, “Not the word I’d pick, but yeah. You sure you’re okay?”

“None of them got me,” Virgil assured him, but seeing the disbelief in Simon’s face he continued. “But I never thought I’d be scared of tyrens ever again. Haven’t worried about them since I got past level 45.”

“I’m not sure if alcohol works here,” Simon said standing. His eyes darted around his office before he extended a hand. “Join me in finding out?”

“Hell yes.”

They drank and sat in a comfortable silence and it wasn’t until Virgil could  _ really _ feel its mind numbing effects that he spoke again. “Customers?”

“None,” Jack replied. “Today was the peace talk remember? I had closed in order to prep for the guilds which had rented out the space for a private space to talk. They had just walked into the forest and me back into my office when...”

Virgil nodded and knocked back the rest of his glass and reached to get himself a refill. “I had been out scrap picking. I had just teleported.”

“Have you been able to reach anyone else?” 

Virgil shook his head, “I don’t even know how.”

“To be honest I’m not entirely sure either. I was just thinking that I needed to message you no matter what; and then I heard the sent sound. And then I could hear you.”

“Have you gotten anyone else?”

“A few. Tact, Rolls, Bilder67. But for those who aren’t responding I don’t know if it’s because they’re not logged in or because of something else.”

“They probably don’t know how.”

Piggy’s eyes showed overwhelming disbelief but he changed the subject. “You should get some sleep. I’m going to stay up in case anyone comes.”

“But-” 

“You know where my room is.”

Virgil wanted to argue, but the thought of sleep was enticing, so he made his way upstairs to the small little loft and flopped on the bed, drifting off near instantly. 

~~~~

“Morning.”

“Morning,” Virgil mumbled back, moving to sit at the bar counter. “No one came then?”

Simon shook his head then he sipped at what must’ve been coffee. “None. And I’ve only heard back from Tact... but I figured out a few things.”

“Like how to cook us breakfast?”

A smirk graced that face as he turned slightly to face Virgil. “I was going to explain that I figured how to use game controls but I mean if you want burned eggs I can do that instead.”

“You can’t cook?” Virgil asked in surprise. 

“Not well.”

“And you own a Tavern?”

“A  _ virtual _ tavern. Why don’t you cook and I’ll explain?”

“Alright,” Virgil shrugged, hopping off his stool and making his way to the kitchen. He paused upon entering it, “How do I even access food? Is it in the cabinets? Or my inventory?”

“Ah, so you  _ do  _ need to know how to play.” Simon smiled. 

“Just hand me food.”

Simon shook his head, “You need to learn. Basically focus on what you usually see on the computer screen.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow but when Simon made no move to do anything he closed his eyes picturing his screen in his mind. In the top corner left would be his health. In the bottom right would be the mini map of the area, and his five saved skills. In the bottom left corner would be the inventory he’s wearing, the stats of his clothes and his sword. And in the top right would be the bar for him to access skills or inventory. Picturing it all he took a deep breath and opened his eyes and nearly stepped back in shock to see his screen as pictured. 

And he wasn’t exactly sure if he was shocked or relieved to see his HP at 73%. 

“Push inventory,” Simon advised. 

Virgil nodded and reached up to hit the word inventory and was surprised to see as the boxes appeared. For a few moments he scrolled through what he had, before he found some eggs and he apprehensively moved to tap the icon. Except his arm went into it and his fingers closed around a large egg. He pulled his arm back and the large egg came with it- he needed to take it in two hands to ensure he didn’t drop it. 

“Nice,” Simon nodded, moving past him to turn on the stove and setting a pan on the burner. “I want it over easy.”

“You’re getting scrambled.” Virgil replied, setting the egg on the counter and already searching his inventory for some milk. “This thing is too big for me to flip it. It’s scrambled or nothing.”

“Fine.”

They lapsed into silence as Virgil worked, but a question was still burning in his mind. “The Starter Village... it’s probably safest there, isn’t it?”

Jack gave a sigh, “Probably. But it’s also probably swarmed with people thinking the same.”

“Safety in numbers?”

“Chaos in crowds.”

“Avoid people then.”

“That’s not what I mean. I said I talked to Tact right? People are rioting in the Starter Village. And most cities. They’re gonna deplete all their resources. Meanwhile it’s just the two of us here, we’d last longer here. And if someone makes it here? Well, if we’re gonna survive we need strength. People who can make it here are strong. We know that much.”

“We don’t even know if  _ we _ can make it here anymore,” Virgil pointed out as he put the eggs on a plate. “But I get what you mean. Is Tact coming here?”

Jack gave a shrug as he handed Virgil a fork and poked at the food. “I don’t know. He said he wanted to gather information first, but I doubt he’ll come this way until we figure out what happens when HP reaches zero. And if health potions work.”

“I hope they do.”

“Same. And when people  _ do _ get here. I think we should lay low for a while. People will probably swarm you for new armor and swords. Maybe we can get more information from listening to the chaos. But it might be a few days before anyone comes.”

Virgil only nodded, not wanting to acknowledge that they could really be here that long. 

~~~~

Nine days. 

It had been nine days since Virgil found himself trapped in the game he had fallen in love with. And he still found there wasn’t much he could do. One day four he and Jack had been bored and daring enough to step outside the Tavern, to see how their swordsmanship fared against one another before even daring to take steps in the woods. 

From it Virgil had learned he could still use basic moves and swing his sword well enough. And he had also realized he could use his saved skills or very basic skills the same way he had accessed his inventory. But now one day nine neither he nor Jack had figured out how to do both simultaneously. And it seemed the few customers and coworkers which had trickled in didn't have a clue either. They had all run for their lives and stuck to the basic skills and had barely managed to make it to the Tavern. But all of them agreed that despite the danger outdoors the Tavern was safer than the cities which were rapidly running out of space, and due to fear of going hunting players were running out of money and had resorted to robbing one another. Virgil could only hope those people wouldn’t come his way. 

“Hey! Anthony! Get me another beer!”

Virgil only blinked at the drunk customer (blueskiesareyellow according to his screen name), “Hello sir, would you like to browse my shop?”

“Beer! I want to buy beer!”

“I’m sorry I don’t sell that item. But I do my best to sell all sorts of armor, weapons, and rare items. Would you like to look around?”

The man gave a look of disgust and began shouting at one of the Tavern girls, MannaM, to get him a beer. “Damn NPC. Good for nothing.”

A woman further down the bar gave a laugh, and Virgil recognized her as one of his repeat customers, FuckThisImTheB3st. “Be nice to my man Anthony. He’s got some good stuff to sell!”

Virgil gave him a slight smile, “Hello ma’am, would you like to browse my shop?”

“Not right now,” she dismissed. 

“Alright. Please let me know when I can be of service.”

On any other day this would be considered horribly slow. Only six customers, and two workers. Usually they were packed all days of the week with players gossiping information to be sold to the highest bidder. But now all they had was a depleting amount of food and alcohol to be sold. And Virgil wasn’t entirely sure what they would do when they’d run out of food, Simon claimed he was working on it but Virgil doubted he knew either. 

The slamming open of the Tavern door was something of a surprise. Then it walked three faces which Virgil recognized. Virgil tried to keep himself calm as one of which locked eyes with him and stormed up the counter and slammed his hands down on it. “I need the owner.  _ Now _ .”

Virgil gave him a smile, “I am the owner of my shop. Would you like to browse?”

“What? No- I want the guy who owns this place.”

“I do my best to sell all sorts of armor, weapons, and rare items. Would you like to look around?”

“No! I want to speak to the owner.”

“I am the owner, sir. Would you like to browse-“

“Are you even listening to me?”

“He’s an NPC dumbass!” FuckThisImTheB3st shouted. 

Tact stepped up next to his companion. “Hello Anthony, May we gain entry to your shop?”

Virgil gave him a smile and moved out from the behind the bar and led the way to the hidden door. He unlocked it and stepped into his shop. Inside Simon stood holding out an armored vest to a player, kittycat=patt, but both looked up as Virgil entered. 

“Tact!” Simon smiled. “Good to see you.”

Tact gave a nod as he moved forward leaning on his cane as he did. “I’ve told you many times to call me by name and not that uncreative nickname.”

“And since when do I listen to you?”

“Roman! Remus!” kittycat=patt smiled. “It’s good to see you both! I haven’t seen you both since the Dragon Raid!”

“Patts!” <3getting2Dsat1 cheered running forward to embrace the other girl. The two started talking quickly and suddenly but Virgil was still trying to process that TheSwordTwins- aka the duo with their own YouTube Channel that Virgil had watched every video from were casually standing right in front of him. 

“Tony, lock the door?” Simon asked, stopping Virgil from staring. When the door was locked all of them sat down at the table leaving Virgil standing. 

“Hey Lies,” royaltyforroyalme or Roman started. “Can you tell your NPC to stop staring and leave?”

Simon paused before he shook his head, “He stays. Anyway Tact, why are we all here?”

“My name is Logan,” He corrected instantly. “I am a tactician for the pay, it’s not who I am. But as for why we all are here I have two pieces of information to share. And lucky you for you I won’t charge a fee.”

“How generous.”

“The first is I have seen first hand that just as when this game was purely game, revival is possible.”

“You’ve seen it?” kittycat=patt blurted.

Logan gave a nod, “I have. I had posted myself outside of the East Hospital and was awaiting to see if anyone revived. And someone had. Two evenings ago I was about to head back to the inn where I was staying when the tell tale glow of the building started and a player appeared in front of it proclaiming and crying in relief at still being alive. I kept my post until this morning and confirmed this was not a fluke by watching it happen multiple times and I also interviewed each of the revived players. Thus I can conclude that when a player's HP reaches zero they come back to life as a character should. But at the same time it doesn’t seem to be a pleasant experience.”

“I think that’s the best thing I've heard since this started,” Piggy commented, relaxing in his chair. “But what’s the second piece of information?”

“I have a theory- or perhaps hopeful thoughts on how to get out of here.”

“What is it?” Virgil blurted moving closer. 

“Ah, is that what it takes to get you to break character Anthony?” Logan asked, amused. 

“Answer the question.”

Logan nodded. “The main quest. This game was designed so that it would update itself when the main quest was completed. Perhaps a fix to the servers can free us. That’s why I asked you all here. Lies is not only a legendary holder, but one of the biggest names in the information trade. Roman and Remus each hold one as well, and when I called both they told me Patton was as well. And you Anthony are certainly high enough level to aid us.”

“That’s a gamble.”

“It is,” Logan acknowledged. “But it is better than simply sitting and waiting for rescue?”

“Wait,” Roman cut in. “You’re  _ not _ an NPC?”

Virgil blinked, “No. I’m not.”

“Then why?”

“People are more likely to talk about things when they don't know they’re being listened to,” Piggy commented. “And now since the joke wasn’t as funny as I intended, Tony come sit.”

“I can’t go get a chair, everyone out there doesn't know I’m not an NPC.”

He patted his lap, “Sit.”

“Fuck off Piggy.”

“Am I not good enough to sit on?”

Virgil resisted the urge to punch him in the face as he looked back to Logan. “If the game reboots if the quest is cleared, wouldn’t that just kill us?”

“As I confirmed there is no death as we know it in this world, that is unlikely,” Logan replied. 

“But how are you going to do it? We’re still missing five swords. Not to mention the main quest is literally impossible. That’s why no one has done it!”

“There was no motivation to. Before the goal of most players was to simply enjoy the game for all about its main quest. We simply need to shift focus.”

Virgil shook his head, “Ralph tell him it’s impossible.”

Ralph paused in thought before he sighed. “We don’t have any better ideas at the moment. And at least it’s something.”

“What if we only have a limited number of lives?” Virgil tried. 

“There’s only one way to find out!” Remus cheered. “Roman! Stab me through the boob!”

Roman paid his brother no mind, “He does have a point. We don’t know if our luck will run out.”

“I think we should go for the swords,” kittycat=patt tossed in. “If it’s possible we can get out quicker shouldn’t we?”

“Do we know where the missing swords are?”

At that Logan turned to Jack, “What do you know?”

Jack gave a frown and his eyes flickered to Virgil before he crossed his arms over his chest. “Before we talk about that we should talk about logistics.”

“What's there to talk about?” Roman frowned. “Either you have the information or you don’t.”

“The game ends when  _ one _ person collects all ten legendary swords. Shouldn’t we discuss who will be doing the holding of these swords? Because quite frankly I don’t know anyone sitting here well enough to believe you won’t steal everything and sell it.”

“I want to go home, not make money!” kittycats=patt said quickly. 

Logan gave a nod, “We both know I have gold to spare.”

“I want to get back to my life,” Roman agreed. 

“How much money do you think you’re all worth?” Remus asked. 

“ _ Remus _ .”

“I’m kidding Ro! Kidding! I wanna get back too... mostly. I mean can you blame me? This is cool as hell.”

“I suggest we each hold onto our own swords until the end,” Logan stated, putting things back on track. “And as for acquiring more, I suggest the person who claims it carries it. And once we have them all between us we figure out how to clear the game itself. Until then we have no choice but to trust one another.”

For some reason Virgil wasn’t sure he liked that idea. 

“We’re going to need to practice fighting,” Virgil pointed out. “Jack we could leave the Tavern to MannaM and head to a low level area to grind and figure it out.”

Jack gave a nod of thought, “We certainly could.”

“Have any of you figured out how to use the skills?” kittycats=patt asked. “I can use the easy ones but I can’t do any combinations.”

“I can,” Remus tossed in. “You just gotta move and it kind of happens.”

“I’ll need you to be a bit more descriptive,” Logan frowned. 

Remus gave a shrug and pulled at the mustache on her face. “They just happened. Like muscle memory or something.”

“Hm, then training will need to proceed. Perhaps you can tell us what it is we will need to know about the other locations when we have?”

“No, I’ll tell you here,” Jack sighed. “I know this is the most secure spot. I can only hope your lips are sealed just as tightly.”

Virgil wanted to disapprove, but he knew Simon was right. “Well maybe first we should start with what swords you all have and then Simon and I can tell you everything we know?”

There was a pause as eyes looked round the table before Logan spoke, “I hold the Sword of Time.”

“I have the Sword of Ice and Water,” Patts announced. 

“Sword of Sound,” Remus put in. 

“Wind,” Roman said quickly. 

“Faces,” Simon finished. “As for the others, I know that two elemental swords are still fully unknown, some rumors say they are in circulation others say they are yet to be claimed. I personally believe there’s truth to both sides. One of them, likely the Sword of Stone, is in circulation, given the Sword of Flame is pretty distinct. Someone would know if it was used. The Swords of Darkness and Light are also both unclaimed. Tony has a theory on those. And then the Sword of Stars is in circulation. Last I knew it was in the hands of a guild, so Mr. Guild Hopper might know something.”

Roman crossed his arms, “I don’t.”

Simon didn’t seem convinced but he let it slide. “Tony, your theory?”

Virgil gave a sigh, “The location of the Sword of Darkness isn’t exactly a secret. But despite that no one has been able to get it given the pitch blackness, and the boss monster. According to the lore to the game, the sword belonged to a fallen angel who tried to attack the heavens. When he lost and died the sword created the barrier to protect him. Meanwhile the Sword of Light was considered tainted and needed to be purified. But my theory is this, that given the true quest of the game is to unite all the swords, that the Sword of Light  _ and _ the Sword of Flame must both be used to retrieve The Sword of Darkness.”

“I don’t understand,” Logan frowned. “I understand wanting to use the Sword of Light but why Flame? It’s said that any lights are automatically extinguished within the dark.”

“Yes, but there’s multiple reports about the boss monster inside. Some seem to think it’s the fallen angel himself revived, some say it’s a dragon, some think both. But all seem to agree that they were certainly burned inside the dark. Now perhaps the Sword of Ice and Water could put it out. But if the Sword of Flame is used it could theoretically form a protective shield of flames to absorb those thrown at us. Or something to that effect.”

Logan paused and Virgil could see the wheels turning behind those glasses, the Tactician's mind working. “Then after training we’d need to go after the remaining sphinxes and gain clues about the Swords of Stars, Light, along the way.”

“I can continue to check in with my network,” Simon promised. “But we need to be careful about people knowing we’re going after the swords.”

Virgil gave a nod before a thought occurred to him, “Eric please do not tell R3M333. He’s not subtle.”

“He’s not that bad. He’s good at collecting information, just not keeping it...”

“ _ Please _ Eric.”

“Fine.”

“Real quickly,” Roman put in. “What should I call you? Because you’re not-NPC has called you like ten different names.”

Eric blinked as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him, “Tony is a bit of a nerd. See my screen name is lordofthe _ lies _ . But he read it first as lord of the  _ flies _ , and ever since he calls me by the name of different characters from the book. But you guys can call me whatever, Lies, Lord, or-”

“Sexy?” Remus asked. 

Eric gave an awkward smile, “I was going to say my middle name is Dante. You can me that or Dee. Trapped in a game or not, I rather not give you my first name.”

“Pleasure to meet you Dee!” kittycats=patt smiled. “I’m Patton! Call me that or Patt! But before we leave, can I buy some armor off of you too? As much as I love this outfit it’s not good for defense.”

Virgil paused looking over Patt’s oversized skirt and heels silently wondering how she had managed to make it to the Tavern in the first place. “Yeah feel free to look around my shop.”

~~~~

“You think this is all a terrible idea don’t you?”

Virgil looked up from where he was sitting on Dee’s bed and gave a slight nod, “I don’t trust them. And yet we just told them  _ everything _ , Dee.”

“Not everything.”

“Oh?”

Dee raised an eyebrow as he sat beside Virgil on the bed, “I know you lied about your theory. That’s not it at all.”

Virgil gave a shrug, “You don’t know that.”

“Yes I do. I may not have heard your theory before but I know that’s not it. I just know you’re a good liar. But I also won’t ask you to tell me what it is.”

Virgil looked into his eyes- those actual eyes. The way Dee has designed the character before he had earned his legendary sword. “Then what are you asking of me?”

“I ask that you don’t trust anyone.”

“I take it that includes you?”

“I’m number one on that list.”

Virgil gave a yawn as he laid back on the bed, “Then make sure I’m number one in yours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the name confusion but at the same time im not that sorry


	3. Level Three: The First Of Many

**Level Three: The First Of Many**

Hylin’s River. 

A river which stretches through western Lirya. It begins a few towns over from the Starting Village and goes continuing through increasingly more and more dangerous places with harder monsters as you go. It was the perfect place to try and beat as many monsters as possible, or alternatively it was a good place as any to relearn how to play the game. It made sense in many ways and Virgil could certainly understand how the group had come to the agreement to train going down the river, but he couldn’t stop himself from worrying. As if the idea of monsters actually succeeding in trying to kill him wasn’t enough, they didn’t seem to be the only ones who had the idea to come here. There weren’t a great many others, but it was more than the handful he had expected. And quite frankly as a group walking around with five legendary swords and zero clue how to play anymore, they seemed like targets. Not to mention how recognizable Remus and Roman’s characters were. Despite Virgil’s instance Roman had refused to deviate from his typical knight’s greaves, samurai chest armor, and bright red hair. It seemed to him it didn’t matter how much he stuck out despite being the biggest target among them. 

Not only had TheSwordTwins put up a video discussing going against a sphinx, but Roman also had a reputation for being harsh to players who “played wrong” or those who called him a Guild Hopper, and he was also known to give negative reviews for other games he had tried. Roman was literally a living target and somehow Virgil didn’t think he would see it unless someone physically painted one on him. 

Remus however was another story. For one he had agreed to change his clothes from his usual flashy green pirate dress to a more muted one but what really made him different was that on the brother’s channel he didn’t generally review anything. He would just go through Let’s Plays of him being a mercenary for hire and his character <3getting2Dsat1 decimating wherever she went-  _ without  _ using a legendary sword. So yes Remus drew attention, but judging from the comments Virgil used to scroll through, he didn’t seem to draw hate.

After him Logan was certainly the most well known of the party. Every high level player, and every guild member in the game had heard of the legendary Tactician, 56Logan_Teslacoil43. Guilds would fight over him to have his expertise in a war with another, but unlike Roman he wouldn’t join a single one. His services went to those with the deeper pockets. So he was well known, but at the same time no one would be stupid enough to try to attack him. 

Then there was Dee. He was well known to those in the business of information. So the general public he was a nobody, but the people pulling the strings would know it would have to be something important to pull the lordofthelies from the shadows. 

Lastly (other than himself) was kittycat=patt or Patton. Someone which Virgil knew virtually nothing about. From what Patton had said, she was a friend of Roman and Remus’ and had aided them in a few raids but with Patton’s level being 56- the lowest of the party- Virgil couldn’t help but have...  _ apprehensions _ . 

“You’re worrying too loudly, dear.”

Virgil didn’t reply as Dee put an arm around his shoulder and began walking him back toward the group. “We’re targets, Eric,” he said finally. 

“I’m aware.”

Virgil stopped walking and looked up to his friend’s face with an eyebrow raised. “You’re aware? This is when you’re supposed to tell me I’m being stupid.”

“But you’re right. We’re targets. But the only way for us to fix that is to learn faster than our pursuers do.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It wasn’t meant to. But at the same time... everyone likes being right, right?”

Virgil could only sigh in response. 

~~~~

Virgil didn’t think he had ever been more frustrated in his life. 

This game was something he was good at- something he was  _ supposed _ to be good at. But now, after his fifth time face planting after failing to do a combination sprint? Now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He pulled himself up with a groan, glancing at his health as he did. The amount lost for the amount of effort he put in was almost unsatisfying. With the way his body was screaming in pain, he wished he had lost enough to warrant the use of a health potion. 

“Someone needs to invent pain killers,” Virgil grumbled, wiping dirt from his face. But he doubted he had been heard. Everyone else was truly the saving grace of this situation, simply because they were doing just as badly. 

Logan was in the woods, focusing on trying to link sword hits together to increase damage dealt, but he had only succeeded in killing low level monsters which wouldn’t even drop anything worth selling (and yet he still would come back and drop them all in front of where they had made camp angrily before walking off again). Also in the woods was Dee. Who had busied himself with attempting to using a combination concealment skill which theoretically would hide him in shadows to be undetected by monsters, but judging from the loud and distressed shouts and swearing Virgil could hear from his direction, Dee had only managed to  _ call  _ the monsters to him. 

Quite frankly Virgil had zero clue how Roman and Remus were doing. The two were sparring closer to the camp in the clearing and while it was clear it was  _ very  _ clumsy fighting, Virgil couldn’t tell much else. But considering how often Patton was practicing her healing skills while the duo fought, he doubted they had improved much either. 

Essentially they had gotten nowhere. 

And as much as he hated it Virgil had an idea as to why. 

  
  


“Tony?” Dee asked slowly, setting his gloved hands on Virgil’s shoulders. “Were you poisoned or something?”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “I’m not poisoned or crazy. I’m serious.”

“You’re stupid though,” Roman tossed in. “Intentionally going to get yourself killed?”

“I’m not  _ trying _ to die. I’m trying to gain  _ experience _ . If there's something I remember from back when I started playing this game, I had to throw myself into things that were difficult. So, despite how- stupid, crazy, and  _ terrifying _ it sounds...”

“I believe Anthony has a point,” Logan said slowly. “We won’t know what true combat is in this version of the game until we try it.”

“I heard there’s a Yino up the river from some other guys,” Remus suggested. “We could work our way there? Sure it's a level 66 monster, but there’s six of us!”

Virgil watched as Roman opened his mouth to respond before his eyebrows knit together. “You just-”

“Then we should continue as we are, but now we have a destination in mind,” Logan concluded. “Now that that’s settled, shall we settle the manner of dinner? Patton I believe you said you would take the first turn. But we’ll need to decide how taking turns will work.”

“Anthony will be doing double for me since I can’t cook,” Dee put in.

Virgil shook his head, “I never agreed to that.”

“Do you  _ really _ want to eat my cooking though?”   
  


“Oh no, you knocked down my HP by 5% last week, but I don’t want to cook either.”   
  


“There are still other housekeeping topics to discuss,” Logan interrupted. “There are other chores which must be done, and perhaps if you do not wish to cook Dee you take Anthony’s chore in something else?”

“We are camping,” Roman reminded them. “What more is there to do? We cook and we sleep.”

“Well we will still need someone to take watch at night,” Patton told him. “And there’s gathering firewood, and hunting. Someone will have to be in charge of maintaining the fire and finally boiling water since Logan pointed out that we don’t know if we can drink the river water.”   
  


“I’ve been drinking it all day,” Remus said in confusion. “I’m fine.”

“It could have contaminants which make it unsafe, Remus,” Logan frowned. “This is no longer the game we know, after all. Virtual or not we could be affected by the landscape greatly. I do recall there are some wild grown foods are known to be poisonous in the game.”

“Don’t worry Specs, I’ve got super high luck and poison resistance. I can eat or drink whatever!”

“The rest of us should probably boil it though,” Patton told him. “The water in our inventory is gonna run out eventually. So we should stock up while we’re here at the river. We also don’t need to waste money on it this way.”

“ _ Fine,  _ what other chores do we need to do mom?”

“Leave her alone,” Dee yawned. “Let her cook.”

“He actually,” Patton corrected. “I picked to play as a female because the character designs were better overall. Lot more hairstyles and clothes, it’s kind of unfair. But anyway, we need to make something like... like a chore wheel!”

Virgil couldn’t help but grimace. 

Roman seemed to share the sentiment, “Aren't we only going to be out here a few nights? We’re not putting down roots.”

“We have roots while we are here,” Patton replied simply. “So, does anyone want to volunteer to do anything or should I designate?”

Patton ended up designating, and Virgil found himself feeling like he was back to living at home under his mother’s strict rule. But unlike his mother, Patton made up for it with his cooking ability. Virgil had zero clue what Patton had done to make virtual food taste like heaven, but when he had finished he had promised Patton his first born in return for cooking as long as they were in the game (to which Patton had quickly told Virgil to keep any potential children, and instead agreed to teach Virgil to cook, and Virgil guessed that was fine too). 

With dinner finished and everyone exhausted from a full day of failure they had agreed on a watch schedule and laid down to sleep. And quite frankly Virgil had expected to sleep the moment he had laid down, but he hadn’t been gifted the release of sleep, as instead he couldn’t help but think about the absurdity of it all. Camping with companions he barely knew in hopes they wouldn’t screw each other over. It was ridiculous, laying there. But it seemed there was nothing more than he could do but put faith in these people he didn’t know- hell as much as he felt he did, he barely knew  _ Dee _ . 

“If you’re not going to sleep Tony I see no point in staying up on watch.”

Virgil sighed and rolled over to face Dee who was sitting with his back against a tree. It was strange seeing him this way. Virgil had seen this character so many times over the years, and yet seeing it for real in person was something he couldn’t entirely comprehend. There was something different about this Dee, something different about his attitude and how he spoke. While Virgil wasn’t sure what it was that seemed so strange, but he had the sneaking it wasn’t simply due to the change in perspective. Perspective hadn’t changed the physical. It hadn’t changed Dee’s affinity for heterochromatic eyes or gloves, nor had it changed his desire to wear suits and capes with high armor stats instead of actual armor. It was Dee himself who had changed. 

“Am I the way you imagined?” Virgil asked finally. 

“Well I certainly didn’t think you’d look like your character no,” Dee replied. But when Virgil gave silence as a response he continued after a sigh. “You’re less confident than I thought. What about me?”

“I... I don’t know. And that’s what’s bothering me.”

Dee gave a shrug and looked up into the tree canopy staring at something Virgil couldn’t tell, “I act differently online. I act cocky, and like I’m always the smartest in the room. I use and manipulate other people- that’s how I got this sword in the first place... but that’s not who I am, Tony. I’m just here and scared just like everyone else. But- but I won’t let them know that.”

“You let me.”

Dee’s eyes locked with Virgil’s for a moment before Dee blinked and his eyes went past Virgil to fire with emotions Virgil couldn’t distinguish. “Even I make mistakes...”

Virgil wanted to talk further. To ask what he had truly meant, but fatigue lulled him to sleep before the question could form on his tongue. 

~~~~

Day two of training was unfortunately mimicking the first. But one thing different Virgil supposed was he was learning more about the others fighting styles. He had had slight knowledge of Roman and Remus’ from watching their videos, but it was different watching them in front of him. For example, rather than focusing on the set moves keyboards allowed, Roman seemed to be quite experimental and able to change what he was trying to do quickly, and it was actually quite impressive to watch him switch the way he holds his katana. He could switch between two hands, right hand, to left in an instant- it was like his fighting ability was innate. Remus was also experimental, but judging from the way he literally threw himself into a cave of low level monsters shouting “cannonball!”, his being experimental was more of him testing his limits and surviving off of his high luck stat. Logan meanwhile seemed to be Remus’ complete opposite and was extremely cautious in his fighting. 

He had walked up to the pig like monster and circled it dodging calmly and easily like some sort of dance which was kind of mesmerizing to watch (and Virgil quickly realized he wasn’t the only one staring). And then when Logan was fully confident in his abilities he’d unsheath his saber, strike, and resheath it so quickly it was hard to see. But most interesting to Virgil personally was Patton. 

Patton was fierce in his own way. One moment Patton would be cooing over how cute a monster was, and then once the monster would lunge at him Patton’s short sword was in his hand and he was attacking. It was like a switch would flip in him, and Virgil needed to know how to avoid it before Patton tried to kill him in his sleep. 

“Tony!”

If later asked, Virgil would deny jumping at the sound of Patton’s voice. 

“Oh, sorry! didn’t mean to scare you kiddo!” Patton apologized coming up beside him. 

“You- you didn't scare me,” Virgil said quickly. “What’s up?”

“Oh I just couldn’t help but notice the hole in your sword, is there a reason?”

Virgil blinked as he hefted his sword up to show the hole in the top of his dadao. “Um, I’m not entirely sure. I googled it once, I think it’s a center of gravity thing because it’s heavy? Logan knows random things, he might know.”

“Is it that heavy?” Patton asked, seemingly interested. 

“Yeah um, I’d let you feel it if like... it wouldn’t revert to your sword style once you touched it.”

“I’ve always wanted to change my sword style. Shortswords are cool and all, but I always thought it would be cool to have something else. Something with more distance? I don’t like having to get so close. It’s scary.”

Virgil couldn’t exactly disagree. Part of him wanted to sprint away at the sight of a monster no matter the level, but another part of him felt a thrill at the prospect of fighting back. 

“I usually did support with my bow even when this was a normal game,” Patton continued. “And the Sword of Ice and Water can also be used at a distance.”

“Well when we face bigger things I think you should stay in the back,” Virgil said slowly. “We all should protect you as the healer.”

“Oh no, I’ll take care of myself. I need to prove that I can work with all of you. I mean you’re level 74 Tony!”

Virgil stared into Patton’s determined blue eyes for a moment before he shook his head, “You joined the twins in raids and you have a legendary sword. That’s proof enough that you’re going to be a big help.” But as the words Virgil left his mouth he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He had judged Patton quickly because of his level too, hadn’t he? What right did he have to try and make Patton feel better?

“I’m still gonna go all out and try my best though,” Patton was saying. “So I can protect all of you.”

“Let’s all just agree to try our best to not need saving at all?”

Patton gave a slight laugh and Virgil couldn’t help but smile slightly in response. 

~~~~

“This is a terrible idea.”

Roman raised an eyebrow, “This was  _ your _ idea.”

Virgil gave a nod of acknowledgement, “Yes it was. And now I deeply regret it.”

“Too late,” Roman sang, swinging an arm over Virgil’s shoulder and pulling him closer to the cliff edge to look into the area through the trees. Or more accurately at the yino. A level 66 monster three times the height of Virgil and very wide with hands which could crush a minivan with little effort. When this was just a game it would have been easy to take down, a single player who was good enough at their speed and jumping could hit its weak spot on the side of its neck and take it down in a few good hits. But Virgil sincerely doubted that even the six of them with nothing more than basic runs and jumps could reach the spot needed. 

“We could stack on top of each other,” Remus suggested. “Or Patton looks skinny, we could throw him.”   
  


“Or we could go with our previously established plan,” Logan put in but at Remus’ blank look he pushed his glasses up (probably to hide an eyeroll). “Patton is focusing on healing, Janus will provide long range cover and hit the weak point if he has the shot, Roman and I will try to create opportunities for you and Virgil to attack. We can't reach the weak point, so we will need to deal damage until Janus can shoot. Understand?”

“Roger! So... are we gonna jump its bones or just stand here thinking about it?”

“We need to preserve our moment of surprise, not be reckless.”

“Reckless is his favorite word,” Roman frowned. 

  
  


Virgil was still deeply regretting his decision in this the moment that Logan and Roman charged the beast. They thankfully approached unnoticed and managed to each get in strike on each leg- but when Virgil’s eyes flickered to the monster’s HP it seemed they hadn’t done anything besides anger it. The monster gave a swipe of its huge paw and the two jumped back- Logan managed to dodge- but Roman was sent flying across the field and out of sight. Virgil didn’t even have a moment to check on Roman’s HP as he began running in himself, but words did slip from his lips. 

“This was really a mistake,” 

“It’s gonna be fun Tony!” Remus cheered running past him. 

“No it’s not.”

If Remus heard he didn’t reply and rather he ran closer to the two already engaged. Virgil watched as he jumped- probably attempting for a combination- and promptly crashed to the ground. Virgil ran past him, toward where Logan was fighting (and failing alone). He needed to get the yino’s attention of him and Logan so Dee could take the shot. That’s the only way this could possibly work. But without combinations Virgil would need to be creative. 

When he got close enough the monster’s arm raised and swung down in a deadly arc towards him but rather than dodge out of the way Virgil forced his body to slide down underneath of it. On the other side he rolled up to his feet and gave it a slash from his dadao. He wanted to check to see the amount of damage he had done, but he couldn’t afford to let his attention waver. He slashed again and then dodged quickly as the monster turned- but it was then it gave a lurch forward and Virgil was able to see the arrow sticking from its neck. Dee had managed to hit his mark but the arrow hadn’t been deep enough. And now the yino knew where he was. 

The monster gave a roar shaking Virgil’s very being and it turned in the direction the arrow had come, seemingly no longer concerned with Virgil or the others fighting. But somehow they needed to keep it there. Virgil fell back slightly taking in the scene as he watched Logan, Remus, and Roman fight. To catch the attention they’d need to get up higher. To do something other than slow down it’s legs...

“Roman!” Virgil shouted, running forward once more and slashing at the monster’s back. 

“Kind of busy here!” Roman replied, rolling out of the way from the yino’s fist. 

“I need you to give me a boost!” Virgil shouted back as he slashed 

“What?”

“Your shield! I’m gonna jump, boost me.”

Roman’s eyes widened in understanding as he drew further back, “Remus! Take my spot with Logan!”

“I thought you’d never ask!” Remus replied coming closer to join Logan as the main tank. 

They were set. Virgil took a deep breath, before he charged Roman. He focused on his speed, and on his jump. He could sprint. He could jump, but it would be the switch between the two that would be crucial. And he didn’t really have another shot at this. Not with Remus ignoring every order Logan barked at him. Not with the yino getting closer. Not with Dee’s second arrow only hitting the raised paw given the monster had moved. This  _ needed _ to work. 

Roman’s deer were planted and his shield raised so Virgil jumped toward him. And the moment his feet hit the shield- Roman was flinging him toward the yino. Virgil wanted to bask in the success of the moment- how it had actually gone right- that haphazard half concocted combination had gone  _ right-  _ but instead he readied his sword and aimed for the neck. He had a chance- he could do  _ this _ . 

Until he was swiped out of the sky. 

Virgil barely had time to register the pain of his bones simultaneously being crushed as he suddenly sent flying backwards- and his body hit the cliff- and then the ground. 

His body was screaming in pain- more than he had ever felt. 

His vision flickering between darkness and the world around him, but even what he could see was blurry. The yino was still attacking, and judging from the blur of the color green Remus was holding it off. Someone was coming toward him a blur of yellow and- he just  _ couldn’t _ breathe. He tried but just felt worse- felt a lack of air. 

He was drowning on land. 

A mix of feeling any and everything and absolutely nothing. 

Virgil wished there was a word he could use to describe what the strange feeling was. Experiencing the landscape around him was more intense than his wildest dreams. In the past he had dreamed of days he could lie in Lirya’s grass and take in everything he could- but now that his dream had become a nightmare he couldn’t even bring himself to enjoy it. And yet at the same time the weight of the sword strapped against his back- or when it was transformed in his hand it just felt overwhelming  _ right.  _ When he would swing it it felt perfect like he had been born to do just that. But every time he felt momentarily happy in this world- he’d remember the truth. He was stuck here. His favorite dream intermingled with a nightmare, was there a word for that?

Probably not, but someone should make one. If they did Virgil would find it useful in the future, if someone ever asked him how dying felt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first of many of virgil's deaths... cuz like... videogame... and its the chapter title and... i like to think im funny


	4. Level Four: Resurrection and Friendly Fire

**Level Four: Resurrection and Friendly Fire**

Virgil came to with a large and almost painful gasp.

He sat up quickly, hands grasping at his own body in a mix of dying fear and disbelief. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. Anything to calm his quick beating heart. When he had he opened his eyes and looked around the familiar scene of the in-game hospital. At the foot of his bed stood an NPC woman in a nurse’s uniform who gave him a smile, “I hope you are feeling better sir, the doctors worked very hard to fix you up and their pay has already been deducted from your account. Before you leave, would you like to purchase some health potions?”

Virgil blinked a few times before shaking his head. “No- no I’m fine.” With that said he stood to his feet and took another deep breath. 

_ The others. _

Shit. Shit.  _ Shit _ . They were all still fighting. He couldn’t afford to stay here. He hurried for the hospital’s exit as he focused in on Dee in hopes of sending a message. It seemed to take too long but then he got the sound of connection.

“Dee?”

“Oh thank God!” Dee’s voice shouted from the other side. “I- Logan I don't care about your hypotheses or what you did or didn’t confirm!  _ I _ hadn't seen anyone di- can you just-  _ damnit Logan!  _ Can you  _ please _ just focus on the fucking monster!?”

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled out a teleport crystal, “Don’t kill it till I get there. I think I figured something out before I died.”

  
  


They weren’t doing well when Virgil returned. 

HP was low across the board. Roman was in the red with Logan, Patton and Dee in the yellow- no and now Dee had joined Roman. And to make things worse, given Patton was fighting instead of healing he must be out of mana. “Drink some potions idiots!” Virgil shouted as he approached.

“See we would do that if we weren’t being attacked every five seconds!” Roman screeched back dodging a hit. 

“It took you long enough!” Dee shouted, keeping his crossbow trained on the monster waiting for his shot. But he kicked over the reverted sword as his feet. “You’re a scrap picker dumbass, you should know not to die with the good stuff in your hands!”

Virgil gave a slight laugh as he picked up the sword and watched it return to a dadao. “Won’t happen again.”

“What did you figure out?” Logan asked, coming over, downing a potion as he did. 

“Combinations and lags,” Virgil answered. “Well it’s more a theory. I need to try again first. Roman, let's do that again!”

“Don’t die this time!” Patton called. 

“I’ll take his place,” Logan decided, moving forward. 

Virgil gave a nod and rushed toward the fight. Patton was doing well enough with his short sword, he seemed to be pretty nimble and able to dodge well. Good traits for a healer. Roman’s HP meanwhile was getting lower. 

“Where’s Remus?” Virgil called as they approached. 

“He died a minute ago!” Roman called back as he fell back and Logan rushed in to take his spot. “So we're doing this again?”

“We need to position ourselves at its back while they keep the front occupied. I won’t die in one hit that way.”

“Just do it quickly please!” Patton called. 

Virgil took a deep breath and then he and Roman were running. Roman planted himself facing the opposite direction of the yino and Virgil ran past him. Then when he was far enough away he readied himself.

The yino still had 35% left. 

But if this worked that wouldn’t matter. They could kill hit.  _ He  _ could kill it. All he had to do was-

He was running. Sprinting. And then it was a combo sprint. He couldn’t stop the smile on his face as the world became a blur, and then he was jumping before he jumped. It didn’t make sense in theory- but the timing worked. And he was using Roman’s shield as a springboard launching towards the monster. Virgil forced his body to twist as he brought his sword round. And then he swung a moment early and brought his sword down through the monster’s neck. 

With no way to slow his momentum Virgil crashed to the ground and rolled on the other side. It hurt- but compared to earlier and the joy he was feeling in that moment it didn’t matter. He hurriedly pulled himself to his feet and turned just in time to watch the yino topple. The beast collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. And then moments later it burst into ash and was gone. Leaving only the loot behind. 

Virgil was still standing staring in shock and disbelief when a body crashed into his, sending him back down to the ground. But Patton laughed as they fell, and Virgil couldn’t help but laugh too. 

“Holy shit that worked!” Roman cheered from elsewhere. 

“How did you do that?” Logan’s voice demanded. 

Virgil pulled himself to his feet before he gave Patton a hand up which he took. “Any combination needs to be inputted  _ before _ it’s acted on. There’s a lag. I don’t know how to explain moving before you move but it- it  _ works _ .”

Logan looked more annoyed than pleased at the information, but instead his focus shifted to what they had earned. “Well you killed it Anthony, I suppose you get the first pick of the items and then the rest is distributed evenly?”

When no one argued Virgil stepped forward to look at the items. A few monster parts, two swords- one with pretty decent stats- gold, and other miscellaneous items. After a pause Virgil took the sword he had been holding and placed it in his inventory before selecting one from the ground. Dee was right, he was being stupid to use his highest level item right then, especially if he didn’t trust the group he was with. He had been lucky Dee was the one who picked it up and not someone else. 

“This is what I want,” he announced. “How should we split the rest?”

~~~~

“Why did you wait till I died to be all cool?” Remus complained. “I was having  _ fun _ Tony! Not to mention your death was  _ way _ cooler than mine!”

Virgil gave an awkward laugh into his glass of water, “Next time uh, you can have the more painful death.”

“That’s all I ask!”

“I think you’ve had enough to drink Re,” Patton decided, patting Remus on the back. 

“I’m- I'm fine!”

“Who knew both of those partying twins were lightweights,” Logan commented, nudging the sleeping Roman with his foot. Virgil chose not to comment on how he was pretty sure that if Logan stood from his spot that the  _ Classy Tactician  _ would immediately trip over his long cloak and fall down the hill they were sitting on top of. 

“I think we’ve all had enough,” Patton amended taking Remus’ mug. 

“You and Virgil didn’t drink any!” Remus challenged, but he laid down anyway. 

“Because we’re gonna be on watch. Also I’m too young to drink.”

“It’s a game, who cares?”

“How old  _ are _ all of you?” Logan asked curiously. “If you’re too young to drink you’re a lot younger than I thought.”

“I’m nineteen,” Patton answered easily. “You?”

Logan’s eyebrows knit in confusion as he replied slowly, “I’m... twenty seven.”

“Oh cool! What about the rest of you?”

“I’m twenty one and Tony is twenty,” Dee answered before Virgil could. 

“I’m twenty four... Also I’m twelve minutes older than Roman,” Remus answered but he looked back to Patton and squished Patton’s cheeks between his hands. “More importantly, you’re a  _ fetus _ !”

Patton gave a slight laugh, “You  _ definitely _ need to stop drinking. Actually why don’t we  _ all _ stop and get some sleep like Roman, hm?”

“I am perfectly fine,” Logan disagreed. He moved like he was gonna stand from his spot but he quickly returned to a seated position. “But I am also responsible and will not have another drink.”

“Yeah I’m  _ sure _ that’s the reason,” Dee laughed. 

“It is. The real question however, is why you carry this much alcohol around with you?”

“Tavern’s supply is limited. By taking a large amount of my stock, MannaM is forced to go get more for me.”

“You’re forcing your employee to do more work since you don’t want to do it?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?”

Logan gave a sigh and he laid back, “You're insufferable.”

“Thank you.”

Virgil rolled his eyes before redirecting his attention to Patton who was smiling satisfied as Remus made himself comfortable to sleep. “I’ll take the first.”

Patton didn’t argue as he too made himself comfortable on the ground, “Okay.”

“You sleep too Sam.”

Dee gave him a dismissive wave, “I don’t sleep when I drink. I’ve learned that the hard way.”

“Maybe it’s different in the game?”

“Doubt it.”

They lapsed into silence leaving Virgil to listen to the sound of the warm night. He could hear bugs, feel breezes, and more than that, he felt  _ relaxed.  _ For the first time since entering this game he actually wasn’t terrified or stressed. Because if there was one thing he knew, it was  _ how to play.  _

~~~~

The days which followed were  _ more _ than helpful. Prior to this training to play had been difficult, frustrating, and fruitless, and yet now Virgil knew what to do. With each day that passed he has gained more experience and was getting better- hell at this rate of improvement he could up a level soon. And one by one his party members had done the same.

“Yes!” Dee shouted, pumping a fist in the air. “It worked!”

Virgil couldn’t help but give a slight smile at his business partner’s enthusiasm. “Congrats, you’ve officially learned how to fight.”

Beside Dee, Logan gave a dejected sigh, “I  _ still _ don’t understand how you all are doing it.”

“Think about it like your keyboard and mouse,” Virgil suggested. “You have to hit every key in the right sequence at the right time for your character to move and for a skill to work. But you need to have the motions in your mind before you do the action. Your mind works faster than your body. So in this version of the game, you need to be doing both at once. You need to be moving and anticipating before it actually works. Does that make sense?”

“No,” Logan deadpanned. “That’s simply how anything works, the concept is not specific to this game.”

“How about thinking about a recipe?” Patton suggested. “In the midst of baking, you gotta make sure you’re still focused on the instructions at the same time as you’re mixing the batter.”

“Once again an unhelpful nonspecific example.”

Patton gave a slight frown in response but before he could reply Logan turned on his heel, his cape flowing behind him as he moved toward the group of weak monsters.

“It’s like dancing!” Roman called after him. “The more you think about the steps, the worse you do!”

“I’ll figure it out on my own,” Logan replied. He drew his sword and moved into a ready stance and Virgil could only sigh in response. It had been a week since the yino fight, and Logan was the only one who couldn’t link skills together. His normal fighting ability could get him through weak monsters like this, but if they really wanted to go after the swords and fight other players and boss monsters... Logan would become no more than dead weight. 

Virgil watched him for a while as the others moved off to train on their own, but Virgil couldn’t take his eyes off the scowl on Logan’s face. But after watching him try and fail repeatedly, Virgil forced himself to move closer. “You okay?” Virgil asked as he cautiously approached Logan. The man was hunched over a pile of monster drops and was poking through it with disinterest, but he stood at the question.

“I’m fine,” he replied shortly. 

“I-”

“You should be training yourself Tony. Boss battles are  _ far _ different from scrapicking.”

Virgil clenched his jaw, “I know that. I plan to save my mana for when we move and get near higher level monsters. I need more experience fighting in a party.”

“I’m going further in the woods,” Logan declared. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.”

~~~~

“You can’t force people not to be stubborn, love,” Dee advised. “And we’ve known for years now that Tact is stubborn as hell.”

Virgil gave a sigh of agreement, that much he knew. Logan was undoubtedly one of the most stubborn players he had ever met, but it had done him well as the Tactician. His stern and stubborn attitude kept his emotions out of his work, and his loyalty then went to the highest bidder as opposed to his friends. Virgil gave a shudder as he silently remembered the way he and Logan had first crossed swords on a battlefield. It had been almost two years ago now, Dee had asked him to infiltrate a major guild. Virgil had and when war time came he found their opponents had hired Logan. Initially he had been excited to see the familiar face, he thought maybe they could exchange information. But then Logan instead told his companions every weakness Virgil had and how to quickly defeat him. 

_ “Friends don’t pay, work does,” Logan had told him afterwards.  _

_ Dee had given a hearty laugh, “And this is why we’re friends!” _

_ Virgil meanwhile, had only sulked.  _

“There’s gotta be something I can help Logan with,” Virgil told Dee quietly. “I feel restless not doing anything and-”

“And running the numbers I am more likely to hold you back more than anything,” Logan finished loudly. Virgil’s mouth dropped open to quickly defend himself but Logan didn’t even look surprised or offended. “I understand the line of thinking. I had the same thought.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it kiddo!” Patton tried. 

“I am older than you, Patton.” 

“You all are! But you’re all still my kiddos.”

“He’s just the natural mom friend,” Remus shrugged. “Hey dad, when will dinner be done?”

Patton gave a beaming smile, “Whenever Virgil cooks it. But... Logan I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“It’s not my night to cook,” Virgil said in confusion. 

“Well it’s Dee’s so yes it is.”

Virgil gave a curse as he stood (gaining a stern look from Patton) but watched as Patton turned his attention back to Logan. “You can ask for help okay? I know I haven’t been playing for near as long as you, but if there’s something I can do let me know okay?”

Logan didn’t bother with a response. 

“Don’t baby him,” Dee said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s-” his next words were cut off as he paused and closed his eyes as if listening. “You sure?” He asked finally. “Alright I’ll be back soon enough.”

“Everything good?” Roman asked. 

Dee gave a sharp nod, “Got some new intel that we need to cash in sooner than later. I won’t give details until we get there because I’d like to make sure there aren’t any leaks, no offense. But with that said, I was going to say, Patton you can’t sugar coat this.” He turned to Logan. “Tact you got two days to figure it out and then we are heading to the tavern to move on the mission with or without you. Your choice.”

“Dee!” Patton said quickly. “You can’t just-”

“There’s nothing we can say or do that will make him stop over thinking things, Patts. And now that we know how to play and we’ve got information to move on we need to get moving. It’s not exactly like this game will be easy to beat.”

“Feel free to leave now,” Logan stated. “I don’t exactly need you all to stare and watch me fail. I am very well aware that I am a disappointment.”

“Two days,” Virgil said before anyone else could speak. “That’s an ultimatum for  _ all _ of us. So let’s get some rest and work more in the morning.”

Two days. Virgil could only hope that was enough. 

~~~~

Logan had insisted on spending the day alone. And this time Virgil let him be. Well actually he had intended to go talk to him later, but it seemed Logan’s contained anger had only increased with time so he hadn’t gone and spoken to the older player.

“We leave tomorrow before dinner,” Dee was saying as they all relaxed around the fire. “When we get back we can talk business over food."

No one argued, all agreed. But all eyes were still on Logan, but it seemed staying away from him all day had brought Virgil to a conclusion on what he would have to do. 

“Fight me.”

Logan’s annoyed expression didn’t change. “I thought we discussed not fifteen minutes ago at breakfast that I wished to train alone?”

“We did,” Virgil nodded slowly moving to stand further from Logan. “But I need to improve my fighting against other people rather than dealing finishing blows. And you have analyzed me more times than I can count. So, I think we can both benefit. Rather than telling you to stop overthinking I’m telling you to do what you do best.” Virgil drew his sword from his back and got into a ready stance. “Long as you swear not to get too mad if I wipe the floor with you.”

Logan gave scoff, “Fine. I suppose I can let out some frustration on you. Once you’re unable to continue I’ll proceed with my day.”

“I don’t think this a good idea!” Interrupted Patton's voice. “Can't you just-”

Virgil didn’t turn to look, but he did hear as Remus gave a loud cheer which drowned the last of Patton’s words. And he couldn’t exactly stop the smile which was on his face as Logan readied himself. This would be fun. 


	5. Level Five: Good and Bad Ideas

**Level Five: Good and Bad Ideas**

  
  


To be quite fair a duel was probably the dumbest idea he could have possibly ever had. If they were just talking swords themselves Logan had the upper hand. Sabers were fast and quick, the complete opposite of Virgil’s dadao. Sure he had practiced with it and he certainly was fast enough to fight a monster, but against a skilled player like Logan, he wasn’t so sure. Then there was Logan’s ability to read him on top of all of that- and he was a higher level too. So really the only thing Virgil had on his side were his skills. His skills... his skills which he was still perfecting... this was truly really a horrific idea wasn’t it? Why had Dee let him do this?

Virgil’s gaze glanced over to Dee who was meanwhile still convincing Patton this was a good idea. 

“Backing out?” Logan hummed. 

Virgil shook his head, “Just wondering if they’re too close.”

“I see. And your assessment?”

Virgil resisted the urge to call the older man an ass in reply. “They’re fine. Traditional rules?”

“Traditional rules are fine. I wonder if the game still has the duel feature or if we’ll need to time it ourselves.” As Logan paused to scroll through his menu Virgil was still trying to determine how the hell he could beat Logan. 

He was also failing at determining how to beat Logan. 

Virgil gave a mental scream of frustration. He had proposed this idea to get Logan to loosen up and work with the rest of them, and maybe better understand skills- but he wasn’t sure he could draw the match out that long. 

“Ah! It  _ is _ here.”

Fuck. 

Virgil forced himself to take a deep breath as he got into a ready stance and drew his weapon. He could do this. Being evasive was his specialty. He knew how to avoid mobs of players to steal from under their noses, so he could avoid Logan long enough for the other player to be pissed off. Somehow he would manage to be okay. He had escaped the tyren pack on the way to the Tavern with nothing (with Dee’s help) he could definitely do this! Well... maybe. Probably. Most likely...  _ hopefully _ . 

The moment the duel began Logan was rushing him. Virgil held in a screech as he dodged and god did he hate that smug look on Logan’s face. Dodging would do him no good. He jumped back to put some distance between them but as Logan lunged in he quickly stepped and turned. Logan didn’t hesitate to pivot and strike again but this time Virgil had turned his large blade on the side to act as a shield as he moved. It was a risky thing, holding a two handed sword with one in this manner- but the only advantage Virgil could possibly have over Logan was his strength stat. Given his naturally heavier weapon he needed to put his points into strength, while Logan had focused elsewhere. He backed up again holding the sword in one pained hand while touching the flat part with the palm of his other. And this time when Logan pressed in, Virgil shoved back with all his might. It wasn’t much- not at all. But it was enough to catch Logan off guard causing him to stumble  _ and give Virgil an opening.  _

His arm was straining from the weight but even so Virgil swung towards Logan’s unguarded torso. For a second Virgil thought he could land a strike. For a moment he thought he could at least land a single strike on his perfect opponent. Just for an instant. 

Just as Virgil’s blade should have been smashing into Logan’s ribs- a forceful parry sent shockwaves down his arm causing the weapon to slip from Virgil’s fingers. He didn’t even have time to draw his back up knife before Logan’s sword tip was at his throat. “I understand now,” he said simply. “it  _ is  _ very much like muscle memory.”

“I told you!” Remus shouted from the side. 

Virgil bit back a retort. “Congrats.”

“Your strength stat must be quite high,” Logan commented sheathing his blade. “But it could be higher, as could your stamina.”

“I’ll win next time.”

Logan's face didn’t change. “No you won’t.”

~~~~

“Hello sir, would you like to browse my shop?”

Roman gave Virgil a glare. “You know I hate you right? You know well I just left to get something.”

Virgil blinked. “Hello sir, would you like to browse my shop?”

“Yes!” Roman shouted in annoyance. 

Virgil wasn’t fazed as he unlocked the door to allow Roman inside the meeting room but he stayed out. While he did truly want to know what was going on with the intel Dee had gotten, more people had found their way to the Tavern in his absence and they needed to be sold weapons. 

“Anthony!” Someone called. “I’d like to shop!”

“I'm very sorry, but the Owner has closed my shop for a private meeting.” He gestured to his right. “But I have some of my new items right here. Would you like to browse?”

“Hell yes.”

Virgil was quite frankly thankful when he was allowed to stop playing NPC for the night. The moment he was through the shop door he sunk into the nearest open chair. “Why is this more exhausting in person?” 

“Because when it was on the computer you could multitask,” Dee answered easily. 

Virgil gave a sigh, “Where’d you send the others to?”

“Patton’s asleep upstairs, Logan is checking on a loose thread to our lead, and the twins are coordinating with some other players to see if it’s even possible to move forward with construction.”

“For what? I wasn’t here during your little meeting, remember?”

“I want to go all in on a new business venture,” Dee started. “We take this from a tavern, to an inn. But to do so we need more space. We could pay other players for construction, and then when it’s up and running we can charge less than the game inns. And we can also encourage trade.”

Virgil gave a frown, “How long have you been thinking about this?”

Dee gave a chuckle, “A few days. But I had been thinking before that if we are going to do raids for the swords we will need a whole lot of money to fund that and we aren’t a guild with that sort of reserve. So I came up with this idea. I figure we get started with our lead and we have people building while we are gone. I’m sure the players who have been sleeping on the floor will help in return for a bed too.”

“You are always doing so many things at once.”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “If this works out we can expand your shop too. I can hire people to work in your place while we travel. But...”

“But?”

“I guess I should ask if you’re okay with all of this. We built this together after all.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m fine with it. Why wouldn’t I be? Your crazy scheme to build this place worked so why would I protest expansion? I mean you’ll get a ton more secrets to sell this way.”

“By the way... why did you agree to this in the beginning? This could have very well been a horrible mistake.”

Virgil gave a shrug, “Well initially we had just been looking for a place to build a house for us instead of paying for an inn so I didn’t care. But then when you came to me with this scheme I thought it was crazy. But I also thought if there’s any chance in it working, that you’d be the one who could do it. So, I just trusted you.”

“That’s insane.”

“I guess. But it’s not like we spent a ton of real world money on this so I didn’t mind. Finishing the quests to get the materials we needed was fun all in all.” Virgil gave a slight smile. “And I still remember how you used to scream at the NPC who built things because it didn’t customize right. You kept going on and on like it could understand you.”

“I wanted things to be perfect,” Dee grumbled.

“I know, I know. But you know to this day you still haven’t told me how you managed to get your hands on a guilds teleport point for this place.”

“I’m still sworn to secrecy on that.”

Virgil gave a chuckle, “Sure whatever.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence just listening to muffled the sound of talking from the main floor. 

“Did it really hurt that badly?” Dee asked him suddenly. 

Virgil raised an eyebrow, “Hm?”

Dee gave a sigh as he hung his head to look at the table. “ _ Dying _ I am mean... I know it’s been a while since, but- but I never knew how to ask.”

Virgil hadn’t realized he had been smiling until it slipped from his face at the question. He looked back to Dee’s concerned gaze and gave his friend a slight smile. “Yeah... it did, and then some.”

“Are- are you okay? You... you  _ did _ die.”

Virgil took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling above him. “I... yeah. Yeah I am.”

Without looking Virgil could tell Dee didn’t believe him, but it was true. Dying had been the worst thing he had ever experienced and yet... somehow he was okay. He wasn’t great or even good, the pain has shaken him to his core. He wasn’t bad either, he didn’t have nightmares or think much of it strangely. So yeah in this moment at least, he was okay. 

  
  


Logan didn’t come back till early morning, but apparently his news was important enough that Virgil found himself being woken up. He sat up blearily and rubbed at his eyes as Logan spoke before he shook Dee beside him. 

“We now know for certain which group has the Sword of Stone,” Logan started when they were all sitting on the bedroom floor. 

“Who?” Patton yawned.

“Shadow Dawn.”

“Fuck no,” Roman said loudly. 

“Roman,” Patton chided. But the other player didn’t seem to have heard. 

“Let’s start elsewhere. I don’t want to deal with them  _ at all.” _

“We don’t have any other leads,” Logan frowned. 

“Ignore him,” Remus said, rolling his eyes. “They’re one of the  _ many _ he fucked over.”

“I did not!” Roman yelled back. “They screwed  _ me  _ over!”

“Didn’t you try to steal a commander’s armor after claiming his play style wasn’t fit for it?” Virgil asked in confusion. “And then when he did change it they lost a war because he longer had the underlying skills for it?”

“I-I mean yeah! But- but they left me stranded in a mine!” Roman yelled back. 

“ _ After _ you did all of that to them.”

“W-what do you even know!?”

Virgil gave a slight shrug, “Well I’m a fan of yours... and I used to have a friend in the guild.”

“I’m not doing this,” Roman declared. 

“No one is asking you to,” Dee replied. “You don’t have to do anything other than be a good diversion.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “Agreed. I suggest we start with diplomacy and send the twins to speak with them. If it doesn’t work we move to the second part. Virgil, Patton, and I can offer services to them.”

“You three should go ahead of Roman and Remus. Might seem too suspicious otherwise.”

“True.”

“Wait Virgil can’t go,” Roman put in. “Won’t he be recognized? Anthony is pretty easy to remember no? Won't people make the connection to the NPC?”

“I use a different avatar skin as an NPC  _ and _ I hide my level and player icon with a few glitches I’ve fostered,” Virgil assured him. “So people usually just assume I’m boring because of it and leave me be.”

“...You make that sound like a good thing.”

“And if anyone figures it out I can usually just offer them a good deal to pretend they don’t. It’s easy really.”

“Why was this so time sensitive again?” Remus yawned. 

Dee gave a frown, “Isn't it obvious? We aren’t the only ones after the swords.”

“Who else is?” Patton asked worriedly. 

“Not sure just yet. But other people have been poking around and soon enough they’ll make the same connections we are. We need to get the Sword of Stone first.”

“But then is it really a good idea to ask Roman and Remus to talk to them? Isn't a surprise better?”

“But if they say yes and join us Patts then we got a whole ass guild on our side,” Remus answered, laying down. “We might only need to sacrifice Roman.”

Roman opened his mouth to most likely shout at his brother, but Remus had already fallen back to sleep. He gave an eye roll. “This is  _ still _ a bad idea. SD will shoot me on sight.”

Logan didn’t bat an eye, “You have enough gold for revival.”

Roman gave a groan and collapsed onto the floor. “This is gonna suck.”


End file.
